An advance reading copy of Jeff Koehler's Darjeeling (due to publish in May) arrived this week.  Sometimes publishers send me food books that aren't cookbooks, even those most everybody knows I almost never review them.  I was about to add it to the "Library Donation" pile, when, for some reason, my curiosity stirred.

I think it was the phrase "the champagne of teas" that caught my eye. I looked dubiously at my teapot, ever-present in winter, filled with an inexpensive Earl Grey I buy in bulk.  Definitely not the champagne of teas.  Sure, I enjoy the taste, but mostly I drink it to stay warm, from 8 in the morning till 6 in the evening, at which point I switch to the house red.

There don't seem to be any books about Earl Grey (although it surely has a huge following among Star Trek: TNG fans).  Darjeeling, though, is another story.  Apparently its origins are romantic,its terroir unmistakable, its history fraught and its future uncertain.  Perfect literary material, in other words.

It's increasingly likely there's a cup of Darjeeling in my near future.  For now, though, the review copy of Darjeeling will see me through a couple of weekday lunches - accompanied by a pot of cheap Earl Grey.

What's everybody else reading for lunch today, I wonder?